A three story wooden building with two chimneys on the roof, and the sign "Dakota House," on the front. There are a few people on the second floor balcony over the main first floor entrance. Other people stand outside the main entrance, and three men sit upon horses. There is a sidewalk and some small trees in wooden supports in the foreground. Three windows at the very left on the second floor are circled marking the rooms that were occupied by E.P. Wells and his family when they arrived in Jamestown, N.D.

Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.

A three story wooden building with two chimneys on the roof, and the sign "Dakota House," on the front. There are a few people on the second floor balcony over the main first floor entrance. Other people stand outside the main entrance, and three men sit upon horses. There is a sidewalk and some small trees in wooden supports in the foreground. Three windows at the very left on the second floor are circled marking the rooms that were occupied by E.P. Wells and his family when they arrived in Jamestown, N.D.

Edward Payson Wells was born November 9, 1847 at Troy, Wisconsin, the son of Rev. Milton and Melissa (Smith) Wells. On March 8, 1871 he married Nellie M. Johnson, the daughter of Joseph S. and Ann (Jewett) Johnson of Minneapolis. They had four children. In 1872 Mr. Wells moved to Milwaukee. In April 1878, Mr. Wells moved to Jamestown, Dakota Territory and founded the land company, Wells-Dickey Company. The next year he began to publish the Northwestern Land Journal. That same year his family moved to Jamestown and he built the first permanent house in Jamestown. In 1881 at its founding, he became president of the James River Valley National Bank which office he retained until 1909. Mr. Wells was involved in many activities including railroad construction, grain, elevators, milling, the James River Navigation Company and political affairs. In 1896 he reorganized and became president of the Russell-Miller Milling Company. In 1899 Mr. Wells left Jamestown and after several years of traveling returned to Minneapolis to reside. He moved the headquarters of the Wells-Dickey and Russell-Miller Milling companies there and continued an active and expanded business career, retiring in 1922. Mr. Wells died October 7, 1936 in Minneapolis and was buried at Lakewood Cemetery. Mrs. Wells died in 1930.